I’m seeking input from my Teeming Brain readers on a decision about my online future as a writer.
On the one hand, I’m thinking of launching a Substack about the daimon muse. It would be a blog-slash-newsletter on the practical and philosophical work of triangulating the inner genius at the nexus of creativity, consciousness, and culture. As such, it would serve effectively as a resurrection/continuation of my late Demon Muse blog. The supervening purpose would be practical, consisting of applied theory as informed by the speculative, philosophical, and historical aspects of the muse, daemon, and/or genius, so as to know, befriend, work effectively with, and thus fulfill one’s own daemon muse.
On the other hand, I’m also thinking of launching a Patreon that would focus on my whole work as a writer, with all of the above included as one of a handful of central themes. In fact, the first big project would be the expansion of my book A Course in Demonic Creativity that I’ve had percolating for a decade.
Technically, the two approaches aren’t mutually exclusive, as I could very well frame a Substack as a place where I write about more than just the daimon muse. But for some reason it feels like I’m being led (perhaps by my daimon muse?) to make a choice here. If I go the Substack route, the product will be more specifically and singly focused. If I go the Patreon route, it will have a wider scope.
You may ask what either of these options might mean for The Teeming Brain. The answer is that I’m going to shift my online writing time, energy, and attention wholly over to the new venue, whichever form it takes. TTB — which will reach its sixteenth birthday this June — will remain here as a historical document.
Please let me know your thoughts, whether by commenting here or by sending me a message through the contact form. I welcome any and all suggestions, including ones that go beyond the simple binary choice of my next online writing platform. For example, what kinds of things do you most enjoy seeing me write about? Where is the interest or energy strongest for you? I’d love to hear your thoughts.